rn The University of Newcastle

History Club

Department of History

STUDENT RESEARCH PAPERS

IN.

AUSTRALIAN HISTORY

No. 5

1 9 8 0

Price : 50 cents

THE U N I V E R S I T Y O F NEWCASTLE

HISTORY CLUB

DEPARTMENT O F H I S T O R Y

STUDENT RESEARCH P A P E R S

I N

AUSTRALIAN H I S T O R Y

N o . 5

1980

Printed a t the University o f Newcastle.

PREFACE

In t h e Aus t r a l i an His tory course o f f e r e d i n Second Year a t t h e Univers i ty o f Newcastle, a s p a r t o f t h e i r p rogress ive assessment, s tuden t s have the oppor tun i ty o f e i t h e r p re sen t ing a convent ional essay o r o f researching a t o p i c o f t h e i r own choice from primary sou rces . Many s tuden t s choose t h e second a l t e r n a t i v e , and s i n c e t h i s programme began i n 1976 a cons iderable corpus o f m a t e r i a l on t h e l o c a l h i s t o r y o f t h i s a r e a has been b u i l t up. The papers a r e a l l a v a i l a b l e f o r p u b l i c use i n t h e l o c a l h i s t o r y c o l l e c t i o n o f t h e Newcastle Publ ic Library. The b e s t o f t h e papers , however, a r e made a v a i l a b l e t o a wider r eade r sh ip by publ i sh ing them each year .

This , un fo r tuna te ly , may be t h e l a s t i s s u e o f t h e pub l i ca t ion , a s a r eo rgan i sa t ion o f t h e courses o f f e r e d i n t h i s department has meant t h a t Aus t r a l i an His tory w i l l be taught i n F i r s t Year only, where uns t ruc tu red p r i v a t e r e sea rch by s t u d e n t s would be l e s s app ropr i a t e . However, t h e e d i t o r s hope you w i l l f i n d t h e papers i n t h i s volume as i n t e r e s t i n g and usefu l a s we d i d .

Pe t e r Hempenstall, Margaret Henry, Noel Rutherford.

CONTENTS

THE NEWCASTLE AND NORTHUMBERLAND BENEVOLENT S O C I E T Y

by Susan A r m s t r o n g

' THE PNEUMONIC INFLUENZA E P I D E M I C OF 1919 I N NEW SOLITH WALES

by Jennifer G r e e n w e l l 13

THE GREAT LOCKOUT

by B r u c e Jenkins 2 3

SMALL TOWN CINEMA: AN ENTERTAINMENT MONOPOLY

by C a t h y G r a h a m 3 4

A PRELIMINARY SKETCH O F I T A L I A N MIGRATION

by M a u r e e n S t razza r i

SMALL TOWN CINEMA:

AN ENTERTAINMENT MONOPOLY

BY

CATHY GRAHAM

SYNOPSIS :

The popular i ty of t h e motion p i c t u r e was a t i t s height i n Aus t ra l i a i n the in terwar years . A s a r e s u l t , t h e cinema occupied an i n f l u e n t i a l pos i t ion i n the community, e s p e c i a l l y i n small towns such as Swansea where i t maintained a v i r t u a l monopoly on organized s o c i a l entertainment. The nature of the monopoly exerc ised by the Graceson Theatre i n Swansea i s examined f o r the per iod 1920-1940 agains t the l a r g e r background o f developments i n the na t iona l f i l m indus t ry and s o c i a l a t t i t u d e s of the time.

annually increas ing percentage.36 The import t ax on foreign films was a l so re ta ined while Br i t i sh films remained duty free.37 While empire l o y a l i s t s , women's groups, c l e r i c s and Australian f i lm makers applauded ,

t h i s opposition t o "American economic and cu l t u r a l imperialism", f i lm exhibi tors were f a r l e s s e n t h u ~ i a s t i c . ~ ~ A s the p ro t e s t s of the President of the Federated Pic ture Showmen's Association of Austral ia, M r . W. Howe, had been explained i n 1927:-

. . . the p ic tu res are the cheapest form of amusement, and h i s [Howels] Association r e l y [ s i c ] mostly on the working c l a s s f o r support. The Association supplies what the public require , and t o be a successful exh ib i to r you must give what they demand".

39

"What the public required" seemed not t o accord with what the government required, i f T. J . Dobinson's experiences provide any indicat ion. Dobinson h i r ed the speci f ied percentage of quota films but r a r e ly screene'd them because they usually a t t r a c t ed only sparse audiences. He found it more p rof i t ab le t o h i r e , i n addit ion a more popular American f i lm and screen it i n place of the quota film.4a This prejudice was a l so apparent towards Br i t i sh films and seems not t o have been pecu l ia r t o Swansea audiences i f the repor t of the Br i t i sh magazine, Bioscope, i s accurate:-

In Austra l ia , the exhibi t ion of Br i t i sh films i s s a id not be [ s ic ] have met with universal success i n recent years. Exhibitors have s t a t e d t h a t there i s a d i s t i n c t apathy towards them on the p a r t of the audiences, owing t o lack of meri t , which, i n tu rn , has meant diminished box-office re tu rns . 4 1

Yet, i n the same i s sue , the magazine expressed i t s opinion t ha t : -

Despite the f a c t t h a t it has been nourished ch ie f ly on American f i lms, Australian t a s t e has not r e a l l y been Americanised, but remains Br i t i sh i n fundamentals .42

Such discussions of the influence of the f i lms on the publ ic character were common throughout the interwar period and r e f l e c t , the degree of power a t t r i bu t ed t o the cinema i n socie ty .43 Indeed, as l a t e as 1943, the influence of the cinema was deemed so great by one wr i t e r t h a t he could commend the cinema : -

. . .not only as a place of wholesome entertainment, but a l so as a place t o go f o r insp i ra t ion , guidance and ass is tance i n a l l things per ta in ing t o c i v i c admi - t r a t i o n and the causes of char i ty and pat r io t ism. ais

P a t r i o t i c zeal may well account f o r t h i s extravagant est imation of the ro le of the cinema bu t , a f t e r twenty years of cinema management, T . J . Dobinson's milder opinion i s e s sen t i a l l y the same:-

To my mind a p ic tu re thea t re p ropr ie to r c a r r i e s a tremendous respons ib i l i ty t o the public, who qu i te r i gh t l y regard t h e i r thea t res as not only places of entertainment, but a l so as centres of soc i a l in tercourse . 45

Page 39

Dobinson's s ta tement provides an accu ra t e r ep re sen ta t ion o f t h e r o l e of t he Graceson Theatre i n the small town o f Swansea i n t he two decades between 1920 and 1940. The cinema - was t h e "centre o f s o c i a l in te rcourse" and h e r e i n l i e s t h e answer t o i t s un ive r sa l appeal . In a small and r e l a t i v e l y i s o l a t e d community wi th minimal f a c i l i t i e s f o r s o c i a l func t ions , t h e cinema o f f e red an inexpensive and e a s i l y a c c e s s i b l e oppor tuni ty f o r s o c i a l i n t e r c o u r s e . The age o f t e l e v i s i o n , dr ive- in t h e a t r e s , c lubs and improved t r a n s p o r t a t i o n had n o t y e t a r r ived , s o the cinema had l i t t l e competi t ion wi th which t o contend. The a t t r a c t i o n of t h e f i lms themselves i s undeniable b u t i t i s doubtful t h a t a e s t h e t i c cons ide ra t ions were uppermost i n t h e minds o f Swansea c i t i z e n s , p a r t i c u - l a r l y i n view o f t h e h a b i t s o f one r e g u l a r pa t ron who i n v a r i a b l y s l e p t through t h e main s e c t i o n o f t h e p ro ramme but asked fel low pa t rons t o "wake me up when t h e comics c ~ m e ~ ~ ! ~ ' Paradoxica l ly , t h e e x t e n t t o which t h e Graceson Theat re became an i n t e g r a l and commonplace f e a t u r e o f t he community i s i l l u s t r a t e d by the d i f f i c u l t y experienced by long-term r e s i d e n t s o f Swansea i n remembering d e t a i l s a s soc i a t ed with i t . Very few can r e c a l l s p e c i f i c s y e t they i n v a r i a b l y comment: -

You j u s t went; eve i? body went because t h e r e was

nowhere e l s e t o go.

44. Ernest Turnbull, T o o Much Done By Too Fewt1 i n Film Weekly, 16 December, 1943, p. 19.

45. Extrac t from a pol icy l e t t e r wr i t t en by Dobinson on 24 Apr i l , 1940, no t i fy ing Merriwa res iden t s of h i s purchase of the Astros Theatre, Merriwa. Newcastle Universi ty Archives, llGraceson Theatre Col lec t ionw, A5355.

46. Interview with Miss L. Boon. 47. Interviews with such res iden t s a s Mesdames Cowmeadow, Boland, Ham,

and Chalmers, Miss Boon and M r . Dobinson, a l l y ie lded t h i s t y p i c a l s tatement.

Secondary Sources :

Monographs :

Bertrand, I . , Film Censorship i n Aus t ra l i a , Queensland, 1978. Murray, R. , The Confident Years : Aus t ra l i a i n the ' lbenties ,

Vic to r i a , 1978. P o t t s , D . , Aus t ra l i a Since t h e Camera, 1919-1929: The Twenties,

Melbourne, 1971. Reade. E . . The Aust ra l ian Screen. Melbourne. 1975. , - , Sharp, D . , The P ic tu re Palace and Other ~ u i i d i n ~ s f o r the Movies,

London, 1969. S p e a r r i t t , P . AUS t r a l i i Popular Cul ture , Sydney, 1979.

6 Walker, D. , eds. , S p e a r r i t t , P . , Sydney 4 ince the Twenties, Sydney, 1978. Ward. R . . A Nation f o r a Continent - t h e h i s t o r y of Aus t ra l i a ,

1901-75, Richmond, 1977. Readert s Digest , A u s t r a l i a ' s Yesterdays : A look a t our recent p a s t ,

Reader's Digest Services , Sydney, 1974.

A r t i c l e s :

Col l ins , Diane, "The His tor ian a t the Moviestt, Teaching History, Vol.10, November, 1976, pp.31-44.

Holmes, C . , "The Film i n Aus t ra l i a t t , Meanjin, Vo1.13, 1954, pp. 189-198.

Megaw, R . , "The American Image: Influence on Austral ian Cinema Management, 1896-1923", Journ'al of t h e Royal Aust ra l ian H i s t o r i c a l Soc ie ty , Vo1.54, June, 1968, pp.194-204.

Bibliographies :

Austral ian Public Af fa i r s Information Service Index t o Journal A r t i c l e s on Austral ian His tory , T. Hogan, A.T. Yarwood

and Russel Ward, The Universi ty qf New England, 1976.